Wireless, handheld electronic communications devices, which enable users to send and receive electronic messages (e.g., e-mail messages, text messages, etc.) on-the-go, may be functionally limited in the kinds of electronic message content they can handle. For example, while a desktop communications device, such as a networked personal computer, might be able to handle various non-text message content (e.g., graphics, images, audio, movies, etc.) that is included in an electronic message, wireless communications devices may not be able to handle such media-rich content due to a lack of software necessary to process media-rich content and/or because the wireless communications protocol with which the device operates does not support media-rich content.
One technique for handling the functionalities associated with different types of communications devices is for an electronic message content provider (e.g., an on-line newsletter subscription service, an on-line retailer, etc.) to transmit multiple versions of the same message content to its users to account for the different types of communications devices the users may employ to open/read the messages. For example, the content provider can send one version of a message that includes content formatted for the functionality of the networked desktop device and another version of the message that includes content formatted for the functionality of the wireless, handheld device. This technique can waste bandwidth resources, however, by requiring the content provider to send two times the number of messages, and can cause confusion for the recipient if both devices share a common e-mail account.
Another technique for handling the functionalities associated with different types of communications devices is to register a particular device, such as the wireless device, to receive messages that include selectable links (e.g., such as a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)) for accessing messages formatted for the registered device. In this case, when a user receives a first message at the registered wireless device that includes the selectable link, the user opens the first message and selects the link to have a second message, which is formatted for the wireless device, downloaded to the device. Usually, the second message can be viewed in the registered device's web browser application. A problem with this technique is that users need to change their normal behavior in opening messages on their wireless devices to look for special messages that include links to alternatively formatted messages, as well as to wait for the alternatively formatted message to be downloaded and displayed.